Every time I open twitter (which is like every 15 minutes) I’m constantly reminded that we all live VERY similar lives. From all being told by our parents that it’s illegal to drive with the lights on in the car to stanning and supporting our favorite people to creating original and hilarious content, twitter is where it’s at.

And apparently for a majority if not all of us, 2018 sucked.

But we learned and we grew. Young people took the world by storm and shared their opinions and took action.

From many deaths in music like Mac Miller and Aretha Franklin to the deaths of other incredible and influential people like Stephen Hawking and Stephen Hillenburg to terrible tragedies in schools, homes, and public places, life has really been put into perspective and we’ve grown stronger. Even just scrolling down the list of shootings in the past year on Wikipedia (THE most reliable source of info) seems terrifyingly endless and it makes you wonder how we survived and even normalized these acts of violence at this point.

2018 was rough but we came out the other side. We came out excited for 2019.

With a new year comes new expectations, goals, and most importantly…resolutions.

And as someone who lives quite freaking close to the shooting at Douglas High School and is a huge fan of Mac Miller, death has pretty much been in the back if my mind for a while if we’re being honest. I took a course last semester named Human Growth and Development and as you could guess, we learned about the stages of life from conception until you die and it was crazy to learn about how many people end their lives with regret or the idea that they didn’t live the life they wanted to or to the fullest.

And that’s terrifying.

At least to me anyway.

I recently read a quote that said, “Are we living or are we dying?” And lemme tell you, I. Was. SHOOK.

Mind-blown.

Okay maybe not that intense but it got me thinking. I mean obviously we’re living…but are we really? Obviously as time passes our bodies are slowly deteriorating almost as fast as my terrible eyesight (sorry to be dark) and we’re just getting older because it really just be like that sometimes. Some people unfortunately have their lives taken from them earlier than expected. And that freaking sucks.

But how do we live a life that’s worthy of living? What does that even mean? How do we have the time or money to do all the things we want? Do I even know what I want? (the current answer to that one is a fat no lol)

“Those who died yesterday had plans for this morning. And those who died this morning has plans for tonight. Don’t take life for granted. In the blink of an eye, everything can change. So forgive often and love with all your heart. You may never get to have that chance again.” – a random anonymous instagram text pic I saw

And there’s societal pressure! Go to school, go to college, get a job, work, start a family, retire and then chill out til it’s time to go. Obviously we all have our own lives and make our own choices but is it really that simple? Is that all life is? Is that really the only way to be successful?

Is our time to see the world and experience it soon only to be limited to the X amount of vacation days we’re allotted a year at work? Is that all the future holds for us?

I want a life to be proud to look back on. A life full of rich experiences and beauty and kindness and love.

But in a very recent conversation with one of my favorite and inspiring people on this earth, I found myself saying, “I just want to live an adventurous life yet I’m stuck in a very pedestrian one.”

But how?

I’m not going to claim that I have all the answers because I don’t, but I think it all starts with living each year like it’s your last one on earth. What would you do? What would you say? What would you want? Who are you making choices for?

Spend your money on experiences not material things! Be there for your friends and more importantly, yourself! Travel! Book flights! Go to concerts! Find what you want to do, and DO IT. And I’m aware that being broke is a mood. But I’m a firm believer that you can turn any thing into an adventure. Accompany your friends to the grocery store or on trips around campus! Nights out! Make forts and have movie nights! Hammock! Bonfires! Literally anything at night is an adventure (seriously). Have deep talks at 2AM. Dance in the rain just cuz. Be spontaneous and implusive. Cry hard and laugh even freaking harder. Allow yourself to feel things. Tell the people you love that you love them.

And don’t take things for granted! It’s easy to get caught up in the future and big picture goals but don’t forget the little things. We all take breathing for granted until one of our nostrils is blocked when we have a cold. It’s the little things I tell ya.

And when I get old, I want to be able to look back on these experiences.

If you know me, you know I’m an EXTREMELY sentimental person. Like a keep ticket stubs and bands from going out kinda person. That feeling when you remember/find something that you used to adore and get that nostalgic fuzzy feeling is what I LIVE for. It’s like when you do a deep clean of your room and find an old diary or whatever and just read about what seemed SO important to you at the time and realize it was all so silly and irrelevant now. It makes you realize that if you got through all of that, you can hurdle whatever obstacles come at you in your future and learn from them.

I literally have a book where I have a list of my favorite movies, people, music, shows, quotes, and things that are important/influential to me and I’m constantly adding to it. The notes app on my phone is just filled with random quotes from friends or little things that happened throughout the year that I can look back on.

And on December 31st 2018, I looked back on it and I remembered when I saw a movie for the first time in a makeshift tent in my dorm room, got crushed under a fence, spent every Sunday night around a fire with some of my favorite people, said anything dumb and laughed about it for hours, had a friend make me a grilled cheese after getting badly sunburnt in a pool and how good it tasted, traveled out of the state on an impulse when I was broke, or even just made signs and shirts to cheer on some friends in a flag football game.

And some of those things may seem a little weird to you because you weren’t there, but you’ll be surprised the things that you forget even over the course of a few months and how just a simple sentence in your notes app or in a journal can bring all those memories back and give you that warm, fuzzy happy feeling.

And you realize that yeah while 2018 may have sucked, there were good little nuggets of happiness spread throughout that made it bearable and worthwhile. Find those nuggets. Remember and appreciate them.

With a new year comes a new page in the book and a blank slate to type some more notes on.

This is 2019. Live the year as if it were your last.

Kasual kook xx